MARK OCCHILUPO: Surf Industry Advisor

Occy has joined Surf Lakes as our Surf Industry Advisor. The former ASP World Champion and Pipe Master has over 40 years of surfing and industry experience. He is assisting with media representation and input into wave design for our demonstration site that is under construction in QLD.

Mark “Occy” Occhilupo
Mark Occhilupo began surfing at age 9 at Cronulla. By his mid-teens Occhilupo or “Occy” had quickly progressed to become one of the sports most prolific athletes when in 1984 (aged 16) he snuck in past surfing’s old guard and into the world top 16. With his defined power attack, the goofy footer laid claim to some of the best backhand performances ever seen in locations such as Bells Beach and Jeffrey’s Bay, while also dominating in the more testing condition of Pipeline Hawaii, where he won the Pipe Masters in 1985. In 1988 Occy drifted away from competition surfing but returned almost 10 years later to professional surfing world stage and in 1999 he finally claimed his much-deserved world champion crown (at age 33) and he continued to test his mettle on the world surfing tour until competition retirement in 2006. Occy is renowned for influencing three generations of surfers both with his unbridled wave riding flair and his charismatic and extremely likeable nature.